


Fortuna labilis (Changing fate)

by everlovingfluff



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Mention of sexual acts, Multi, Racism, Swearing, Will add tags as they come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-08-20 06:18:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8239091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everlovingfluff/pseuds/everlovingfluff
Summary: “So you either let go of my arm and back the fuck off or- "Red looked at Wisely, who moved to the man’s side- "My friend here will break your neck,” he smiled sweetly. "Deal?” Or: Red and Wisely grow up together





	1. Chapter I

The street was empty, just the strays were awake and moving, constantly searching for warmth and a safe place to hide from the powerful wind. The leaves on the ground were wet and sticky, a sure factor in keeping the ground cold and unbareble to sleep on. In a small alley two people were talking in hushed voices, scared of the idea that others could hear them.

  
"I will take cover. The old priest that lives in the house down there always leaves the top window open. You have to be quick. His dog is a bloody death trap. Go in, exit the room you will jump into and run down the hall, enter the last door on left. The papers should be in his nightstand. If you hear even the smallest sound, you run out. Understand?” the young boy said quietly.

  
"Yeah? I think I got it. Don’t worry, mate,” responded the other figure.

  
"Bloody hell, Red. Stop taking this so lightly. If you’re caught then the old man could _kill you_. Don’t you dare ignore how serious this is.”

  
" _Wisely_! I know what the fuck I am doing, so stop worrying. I have been on my own long before I met you,” warned Red in a menacingly way.

  
"I know, but you can’t blame me for hating that I have to send a handicapped friend in the bloody house of someone that could kill him in 5 seconds.” Wisely got closer to Red and roughly pulled on his left hand. "If you dare to die on me then be sure that I will give your savings to that old begger near the church.”

_"But she is a bloody fake-”_

_  
_ "I know! So get back in one piece, would you!”

  
Red harshly pushed Wisely out of his personal space. "I am gonna be _fine._ Someone has gotta do the dirty work and if the rich hags we see everyday would do them, then we will be left to starve on the side of the street. Plus, if I am the handicapped one then what are you, huh? I don’t really see you running around without almost losing your breath.”

  
"Asshole.”

  
"Very original, buddy. Just stay here. I am gonna be back in the blink of an eye!”

Red slowly exited the alley and run to the other side of the street. Looking around he saw that the lights in the cottage next to the priest’s were lit. He had to be careful, or he might be seen. Bowing down, enough to walk under the illuminated space, he quickly passed the house and hid in the small gap between the two buildings. As promised, the top window was open. Putting his legs, one by one, on the wall in front of him and stretching his upper-body against the one at his back, Red started climbing his way up. 

  
After a little while, he has succesfully climbed in the room. It was small and dark, with weirdly smelling plants growing out in neatly separated pots.  
Red walked to the only door in there and pushed on the doorknob. 

  
_Click_

  
'Closed, huh?’

  
He took two hairpins and kneeled down by the doorknob. The boy bent the first pin in the shape of an ‚L’ and put it on the pressure point inside the keyhole, then he pushed the second pin inside and he started playing with the weights until the door clicked again and it opened.

  
The hall was devoid of light and the floor was covered with a thick, brown rug. There was a total of 4 doors on the left wall and 3 on the right. Quickly, Red run to the end of the hall, thankfull for the textile which stopped any sounds from being created. Getting into the destined place, the young boy started to search for the wanted papers. He found them quickly and hid them into his coat. Not safe yet, Red started retreating back to his friend as fast as he could. The moment Wisely saw him and noticed he’s uninjured, he let out a sigh of relief. "You sure took your sweet time getting back. Did you find them?” Wisely got up from the ground and approached Red. "Met the family dog?”

  
"I think they are the ones we wanted. The release of lien for one of the chruch’s proprietary. Looks like the ‚padre’ steals from his own men,” he said, waving the papers in front of Wisely with a grin. "Fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with any dogs from hell. And, to spice the story up, it looks like the priest is playing with an illegal, non-medical cannabis factory. Brilliant, isn’t it? Such a good representation of religion! The guy doesn’t even knew how to make a healthy plantation. If he closed the window then that small room could as well be a hot box.” Red took Wisely’s bag off his shoulder and pushed him towards a small trashcan as if suggesting for him to sit on it.

  
“We have to go meet up with Beckett,” said Wisely while taking a seat. "With all this information he will be able to put the priest in prison. If not for giving the chruch’s savings as if they are his own, then for illegally growing drugs in his home. And if we’re lucky Beckett will fall with him,” he glanced at Red. "We should go now. It’s not safe for us to go in the morning or he’ll know who gave the police the information.”

  
"We will go -” Red pulled a slick, black box out of the bag, along with a brush and smirked- "as soon as I finish with you.”

  
Closing his eyes, the older boy sighed heavily. "I really hate make up.”

  
"Well, unfortunatly for you, you will have to suck it up for now. We both know that if you go there like this you could be also put in a cell because of your tanned ass. This is not a world for rromani people and you fucker have to deal with assholes like those huge ones in the pigs’ playpen, they are the twats that beat people like you to death. Maybe one day I won’t have to paint your skin white; it looks horrible on you, by the way, kinda like you’ve frozen half to death. But, now I would prefer if we both get out of the police station, got it?”

  
"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Hurry up then! We don’t have all night.”

  
Red opened the box, which contained two compartiments – one with a light cream and one with a white powder. He quickly applied the cream to Wisely’s face, ears, neck and hands; then he covered everything with the powder.

  
"All set! Ah! You look like a british ass. Perfect! You have the personality on point and now you’ve also got the looks! Tell me, mate: how do you like your tea? I will bring some crumps,” antagonised the younger boy, smirking.

  
"Go fuck yourself, you bloody git.”

  
"A bloody git? Really? You pest!”

  
"You are the one that used to hide in trashcans! If someone is a dirty pest here then that is you!” he passed by the red haired boy and exited the alley. "Come on, lazy ass!”

  
“He says ‘trashcans’, but won’t mention that they were the only dry place. Bloody asshole,” mumbled the younger boy in a high pitched voice, trying to imitate his friend.

* * *

  
It didn’t take long for them to arrive to the mayor’s residence.

  
Conor Beckett was a tall and skinny man with a small, brown beard. He became the leader of the city five years ago and since then he has been in a constant war with the priest, Jonathan. The old man has a huge amount of influence over the people, so they never figured out that the representant of God was robbing them all blind. 

  
People donated to the church in hopes of it being reconstructed and becoming more welcoming, but their money has never been used accordingly. Jonathan treated the public plots as his own and gave them away illegally, to people who he was indebted to. After sometime, Conor found out about the other man’s habits and was horrified by the way they all have been living until then.

  
Desperate to stop the whole ordeal, the young man hired Red and Wisely to get him some proof so they could put Jonathan in a cell. He figured out that if they somehow got the signed acts that were used to give away the land and talked with the head of the police about it, then they could bring justice to the people of the city.

  
The duo was the perfect solution to the mayor’s every problem, but as much as he pretends to be a good person, he still wrinkles his nose at the two dirty orphans and curses silently at the less fortunate, so their interactions were short and formal.

  
They met when the boys got arrested for steal attempt of fresh bread which was put outside to cool down. Beckett gave them the option of doing a job for him in exchange for their freedom (even if Red could probably pick the lock and get them out of there, but Conor doesn’t need to know that) and a good amount of money. Since only a few people were aware of the existence of these strays, he didn’t have to worry about Jonathan trying to search for them first. By the time he’d realize what happened, these two will be already long gone, on their way towards a new place to live. 

  
Knocking on the man’s door, they waited for a brief moment for Beckett to open up. He pulled them quickly inside and locked the entrance.

  
"So? You got them?” The tallest in the room asked, waving his hands around frantically.

  
"We did. I have also found some more information that could work if the acts aren’t convincing enough,” affirmed Red and put the papers on a desk. "But-” he moved toward the mayor- "you have to pay more for it. And trust me, it’s worth every single, dirty penny.”

  
Beckett looked at him and narrowed his eyes. "You dare ask for _more_? I got you out of prison, I gave you money, and you demand even more? How do I even know it is worth it? You dirty brat!” he grabbed Red’s left hand and pulled him even closer. "What would you have that will help me more than those acts?”

  
"For one, the papers can be falsificated. Also, you’re an idiot that didn’t think that illegally obtained information is not good to use in court and you could be charged with house breaking, even if you weren’t the one that did it. What I have is something that will not get you with us in a bloody cell. So you either let go of my arm and back the fuck off or-" Red looked at Wisely, who moved to the man’s side- "My friend here will break your neck,” Red smiled sweetly. "Deal?” 

   
"Little devil,” he said, releasing the smaller boy. "Fine. I will give you the money _after_ I find out if the information was good or not. Works?” 

  
Seeing the mayor grinding his teeth in frustratiom made them smile. 

  
"It’s fine with us.”

  
"I have just one question. Why did you two help me if you knew that I didn’t plan it well?”

  
Wisely rised an eyebrow and smirked. "That is simple. We knew that we will get out. Even if you didn’t succed, which you totally wouldn’t have, we would still be able to leave the city in time. Your affairs aren’t ours. We don’t care what you do as long as we’re paid at the end.”

  
The man shuttered and put his hands in the air in a mocking sign of peace. 

  
"You’re not even thinking about the people around you. Doesn’t this fraud of a priest and his despicable actions affect you even a little?”

  
Red laughed and Wisely tried to hide his grin behind his hand.

  
"If we care about him? Or you people? The better question would be if you care about _us_ , or even better, if you care about anyone poor? Unhealthy? Handicapped? Huh?” Red looked at the man until his gaze dropped shamefully to the ground. "Thought so.”

  
"There is no need for us to waste our time caring about people who don’t give a shit about us or others in the same situation. Save your words for someone who listens.”

  
Wisely pulled Red towards the exit and waited for the man to unlock the door.

  
"Tell the police to search the old man’s house for cannabis. Anonymus tip. Don’t say anything more and you should be fucking fine.” 

  
Conor froze while grabbing the keys. Cannabis? That is scandalous! He couldn’t believe what his ears heard, he was conflicted and it showed on his face.

  
Waiting for Conor to process the information proved to be an extremely boring activity. Red took the keys from his hand and unlocked the door.

  
"We will leave around eleven am. We will be by the bridge, waiting. If you won’t make it there by ten, then we will come find you.”

* * *

  
The boys made their way to the temporary shelter. Pulling on their warmest coats, the two huddled together under a few blankets and prepared to sleep.

  
"Red? Do you think that he will come?”

  
"Of course he will. If not, well then, the police will get a tip about the mayor having stolen signed acts in his house. There is no need to worry, Wise,” he said and pushed his face further into his friend’s chest. "I am bored. Tell me that story again. The one about your mother!”

  
Wisely smiled sadly and ruffled the younger’s hair.

   
"You’re so demanding for a big softy. What are you? A child? But, oh well, I guess it won’t hurt anyone.”

  
"If you call me a softy one more time, I will punch you in the fucking dick, understand? And I am one bloody year younger. Don’t patronize me, you prick,” he said, hitting the other in the shoulder.

  
"Ok, fine!” Wisely laughed and cuddled closer. "Haven’t you heart this story hundreds of times already? You have kept putting me to tell it to you for two years now. Don’t you get bored of it?”

  
"Not really. It’s ten times better than when you told me how you lost your virginity. Now, _that_ is a story I have heard too many times for my confort. And I still think that you’re lying.”

  
Offended, he gasped and shouted: "I am totally not lying!”

  
"Well then, I hope you’re enjoying the dry spell‚ cause you told me that one over two years ago. Bloody hell, that is literally the first thing you have ever told me about yourself,” he snorted.

  
"It was fucking not!”

  
"Nah, I am pretty sure that you came to my 12 years old self and went like: _'Cheers mate! I am Wisely and let me tell you about how I lost my virginity.’_ You scared me for life. I didn’t even know what you were talking about!”

  
The older snorts with laughter. "I certainy did not! You don’t even know what your age was, you doofus!”

  
"Oh shut it! I have a vague idea of how old I am, ok? That doctor, the one from a year ago, said that I have to be around 13! So that means I am around 14 now!”

  
After a while, between laughter and tiny smiles, the silence of the night crept into the small shelter and fell over the two.

  
"Red?” he said quietly.

  
"Yeah?”

  
"I think, I think I remember a story I have never told you,” Wisely whispered. 

"Are you listening?” 

  
Red nodded. While he needs to be reminded that among all these indifferent individuals there are a few good people out there in this cruel world, Wisely also needed to talk - about his lost family, his grief, his feelings. He knows that Wisely likes this as much as he does. So, he’d make him talk. Red likes listening anyway.

  
"My sister was nothing like my mom. She was bold and rough around the edges, beautiful and had a silver tongue.Ya know, people hate us. Because of our skin and where we came from. We don’t get education. We’re wild dogs that travel in packs and make the city stink for them. You get used to the idea that they will never see more than that. In order to survive we had to sell our souls and steal and bet and curse and joke… I never found out how she did it, but she broke the system,” he breathed in slowly and continued. „Somehow she learned how to write and read, and when I was old enough, she taught me too. Mom wanted her to find a husband quickly, because at that time she was 15 and it was considered being almost too old to not be married. My mom had her first child at her age, got tied down to my father at 13. 

  
Do you wanna know what she did? She challenged everyone who wanted to take her hand to a game of cards. If they lost she will continue to be free and they will let her alone. No one ever did this before in our clan. She won, too. A force to reckon with, that’s what she was, I tell ya!

  
So one day she comes back from her walk in the city just to find a random asshole trying to beat the shit out of our mother , because having a girl win is unnacceptable. Guess what she did? She cut that prick’s neck. Straight up murdered him. No guilt or anything like that. She owned up to her actions and put his body in the middle of the camp. No one ever fought her after.

  
She was so brave, so intelligent. She was good. That is what those people don’t understand. We’re _good_. Not some savages, not some slaves. Not animals to be disposed of. I don’t like it. I don’t like  _them_. Sometimes I wanna do what she did. Cut the necks of all of those bastards.”

  
"Do you want to take revenge? Make them all pay for what they did to you? To your family and to all the others like you?” he whispered.

  
"No,” he answered after a long pause. “As there are bad people among us there are good ones as well, but even they aren’t free from sin. If I were to take revenge on something that would be humanity. The bad and good are so intertwined together that you can’t get rid of one without the other. I’d have to make a new world, one without sin.”

  
"Like Noah did?”

  
"Kind of. He didn’t really manage to do it, did he?”

  
"I guess not,” he mumbled.

  
"Come on. Let’s go to sleep.”

  
"Fine.”


	2. Chapter 2

Wisely never thought about how he got into those situations. After he met Red, bad luck just seemed to follow them like a dog would his beloved master.

  
Right then, they were running from some cops, bloody annoying creatures they were, fast, with long legs and small guns that they kept shooting everywhere with. He was pretty sure one bullet actually grazed his face, but he wasn’t going to stop to check.

  
After they moved to a new city and got rid of Beckett, but not before he gave them their money- two small bags, twice the amount they agreed on, given at exactly half past ten in the morning- they bought food and a few more clothes, as the cold weather was nearby. They traveled by foot so other expenses for their journey were almost nonexistent.

  
Small cities were easy to get through, the big ones were a problem. The people were more aware of their surroudings, they knew how to lock their homes and take care of their wallets or shops. Of course, Wisely and Red knew that in order to keep their money for things that they really needed they’d need to steal things like food and wood.

  
This time they didn’t even need to steal something. An other thing that made big cities so different was that they hated beggers and homeless people. Even seeing them brought up the bubbling hatred locked inside and they were shunned out. If they didn’t comply to the wished of the higher class things could get pretty nasty.  
Like now.

 

"Fuck, damn it, Wisley! You can’t fucking get tired now! Move you lazy shit!” screamed Red, pulling on his friend’s hand.

  
"I’ve never been a fit person, you freak! Not my fault that some people can’t keep up with your crazy stamina!” he yelled back and stopped to try to breathe again. His lungs were hurting and his members were aching. The cops were getting nearer, but he couldn’t move.

 

"You ass!” Red pulled on Wisely’s hand until he was flushed against his back. "Come on now. Jump. I’m gonna carry you.”

  
"Bloody inhuman redheads,” he mumbled and jumped on Red’s back. He was holding his shoulders tightly and his ankles crossed around Red’s waist, his one good hand holding them.

"There’s gotta be some kind of underground sistem. Look for any form of entrance,” Red huffed.

  
For a few minutes they found nothing, their energy and hopes running thin when Wisely saw a round brass trap in the ground.

  
"Get in there!”

Red opened the trap quickly and jumped in. They landed on a foul smelling dirt.

  
"Amazing. The toilet sistem. We’re so fucking lucky. Come on. There should be some kind of water source around.”

  
They walked around aimlessly for a few minutes, until they found a ladder. They had no idea where it went, but they took enough turns so that they were sure the bastards wouldn’t be waiting for them.

  
"Come on. We gotta get up there or they would be fuckers enough to send their dogs after us,” Red said. He got near the wall so Wisely could catch on the metal bars. "Hold them good. I am gonna have to get away from under you. You have the only clean shoes now, wouldn’t wanna waste them.”

  
Wisely laughed. "Only you would have the luck to step in this shit. Next time we’re straight up avoiding any public place. Also, they would never let their dog in this place,” he smirked and rolled his eyes. "Too dirty for them.”

  
"Haha. Sure they wouldn’t. Their streets are dirty enough. Too much chit chat, Wise. Climb up. I don’t wanna stay here all day.”  
"Hmm. Maybe I like the smell. Quite refreshing. I think we could stay here some more.”

  
Red frowned and hit Wisely in the leg. "Don’t play, not in the mood for your dumb jokes.”

  
Wisely quickly climbed up and rised the metal top at the end of the ladder. Red remained down in case that they needed to make a quick getaway. Wisely looked around; there were few people around, none of them looking like they were cops. He saw a boy around Red’s age, dressed in ripped and dirty clothes. Someone who looked like the boy’s mother was a little further down the street, tangled in a nest of carbord and blankets. No one was bothered by their apparence. Good, they were somewhere between the outside of the city, where the poor people resided, and the middle class folks’ side of the town.

  
"Get up! We’re in the clear,” he said and pushed the brass trap the rest of the way.

  
Once they both were up Red started looking around for a place where he could hide and change his clothes, he did find a little alley somewhere near the right corner of the street.

  
"Stay here, Wise. I’m gonna go for a quick change. You try and see if there is a river or lake anywhere near so we could wash those clothes,” Red said and walked away.  
Wisely started pacing around the street, he couldn’t stay still in case someone would suspect him of God knows what.

  
"Hey! Hey! Mister!” the younger kid he saw earlier ran up to him and tugged on his sleeve. "You aren’t from around here, are you? I could help you make your way around. You seem a bit lost, I can help! I promise you, I can help!” the kid spoke quickly, in a heavy irish accent. How he even got in this part of England he had no idea, but he quickly realised that may be the reason why he was looking so poorly. The boy kept saying the same words over and over again, which showed that he was desperate. Wisely decided to indulge him.

  
"Tell me, is there any river around here?” he asked the boy, who seemed to radiate happiness once he was asked for help.

 

  
"No! No! There is no river around! Not even one! But I can show you a lake, mister. A small one, but it is still good!”

  
That was weird. Wisely was sure that there was at least an affluent of the Avon river around, but he nodded. He didn’t like how this was going; the look the kid was giving him was full of happiness, but he didn’t feel comfortable. He then realized that, for whatever reason, he was scared. His skin was getting wet and cold and his heart was beating fast. Wisely’s face was getting pale. _Why was he scared?_

  
"Want me to take you there, mister? I could show you! No need to pay me!” the boy was jumping up and down from excitement, almost pulling Wisely with him.

  
"No thanks, I can manage to find it on my own,” he said and pulled his hands to his body. He took a step back. _'Where the fuck is Red?’_

  
The younger one frowned. People were starting to look at them; the boy’s mother was shaking her head and swinging her body from left to right, almost like she wasn’t able to control her body.

  
"Now, now, that won’t do, mister! I’m sure you can’t find it alone! I can help you, mister!”

  
"And I’m sure I can. Thanks, but I’m fine on my own," Wisely responded and looked around for Red. He was him getting out of the alley and frowning when he saw all the people around him.

  
"Come on, mister!” the kid snatched Wisely’ wrist and tightened his grip until he felt like his bones were going to snap. "I offered you my help!”

  
Red made his way to Wisely, pushing all the people away. He grabbed the hand of the other boy and pulled it away from his friend’s. "I’m gonna be pretty straight forward and tell you to fuck off. You ain’t gonna be useful to us so get away.”

  
The boy suddently started hissing and backing away. "Innocence!” he screamed and run, hiding behind his mother, who started crying.

Red looked at Wisely. "What the fuck is going on?''

  
"I have no idea. Let’s get otta here,” he said and they both left, sometimes looking over their shoulder to be sure no one was going after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the slow updates


End file.
